September 21, 2014

Plants need as much effort for conservation as animals.In the clip above, which is already a bit dated, it seems that the UK has been doing a lot of work. Still, ensuring a native habitat is important.

Twenty years ago this
month, the Wollemi Pine made headlines around the world when it was discovered
in a remote canyon in the Blue Mountains, west of Sydney.

Dubbed "a living fossil", the
distinctive pines captured the world's attention because it was thought they had
been extinct for at least 60 million years.

The Wollemi Pines, which were
discovered in 1994, are about 40 metres tall and are hundreds, if not thousands,
of years old.

Their trunks are more than a
metre in diameter and they have distinctive bark which resembles bubbling
chocolate.

But the last two decades have
taken their toll on the prehistoric pine and its future is now under threat from
a soil-borne pathogen called Phytophthora, which most likely walked in on the
boots of uninvited visitors.

David Crust from the National
Parks and Wildlife Service has been managing the original site and said the
introduction of Phytophthora caused root rot in several of the pines."It has impacted on a number of
plants and it has caused part of those plants to die back," he said.

"Obviously we're really concerned
the Phytophthora could spread throughout the population and start to kill
individual plants."

To ensure the species survives,
an insurance population of young Wollemi Pines has been planted at another
secret location in the Blue Mountains.

Mr Crust said the insurance site
has been specially chosen for its similarity with the original site.

"That's obviously important from
a scientific point of view in replicating what happens in the wild populations,"
he said.

Access to the insurance site is
strictly controlled and each piece of equipment taken in has to be washed down
with fungicide to stop the spread of Phytophthora.

Around a hundred saplings grown
from cuttings taken from the original pines have been planted in a variety if
sunny and shady locations at the site.

Research scientist Cathy Offord
said the growth rate of the saplings have been compared to assess how the plant
grows best in the wild.

"In this experiment we're finding
that the higher light is giving the plants an advantage and they're growing
better than plants in lower light," she said.

The location of each tree is
recorded using GPS and they are regularly measured to track their
progress.

New South Wales Environment
Minister Rob Stokes marked the 20th anniversary of the Wollemi Pine's discovery
by listing it as the state's fifth iconic species, alongside the koala and the
brush-tail rock wallaby.

The Government also announced an
extra $25,000 in funding from the Saving our Species program to protect the
Wollemi Pine.

"It sends a very clear message
that the NSW Government wants to ensure that this species has a solid and
permanent future," he said.

"When you find a living fossil
that has the same genetic make-up as fossils found that are 200 million years
old, you know you have something very, very special to hang on to."

But in order to hang on to this
remarkable plant, there is a simple rule: do not try to find it.

The locations of the insurance
population and the wild population are top secret and they need to stay that way
if the species is to survive.